The Daily Bulletin Archive

Naila Ansari, assistant professor of theater and Africana studies, was recognized for her work in the arts by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown during his annual Black History Month Celebration on February 10 in City Hall.  

A native of Buffalo, New York, Ms. Ansari is a cum laude graduate of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts and holds an M.F.A. from the University at Buffalo. She has danced for the legendary Lula Washington Dance Theatre and performed works by Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and Sidra Bell. Ms. Ansari served as the choreographer for Black Roots Summer, named Best Dance of 2021 by the New York Times, and was praised by Broadway World for her directing and choreography of the adaptation of Shea’s 710 Theater’s first produced show, Once on This Island, in 2022.

Ms. Ansari merges artistry and scholarship to tell Black stories in America. Her research and performance project “The Movement of Joy” archives stories of Black women's joy across the country. In addition to her film documentary of these stories, Ms. Ansari hosts the podcast This Is Joy on the Alive Podcast network, the first Black woman-owned podcast distribution company in the country. She has published articles in Theatre Journal and the Dancer-Citizen and has received numerous grants and awards, including the New York State DanceForce Grant and the Pittsburgh Courier 40 under 40 Award. Ms. Ansari is a current Interfaith America fellow for the Black Interfaith Project in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she recently presented her production of the “Movement of Joy.” She also serves as the dance director and a company member of Ujima Theatre in Buffalo, New York.